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T27 Heavy Tank
The T27 is an American heavy tank designed by Jackson Ordinance & Armor Corp. as a direct response to the Tiger I, and later the Tiger II heavy tank. Designed in December 1942, with the final design appearing in January 1945, it was more heavily armored than the "heavy tank" currently in service, the M26 Pershing. This came at the cost of speed, as the engine would have to lug around a 49.3 ton steel monster, and that's without any extra equipment or armor added. Initial T27 models were fitted with 2 Rolls Royce Meteor engines, but were replaced with a locally produced V12 engine with similar performance to reduce the time needed for tanks to roll off production lines. T27 models had torsion bar suspension, like the Tiger I, but the T27E1 had double-torsion bar suspension, like the Tiger II and Tortoise. It was armed with an experimental 110mm T5E1 gun. T27 models had 3 M1919 Browning GPMGs mounted, one on the roof of the turret, one coaxial with the main gun, and another bow mounted, but with no M2 Browning mount. The T27E1 had the bow mounted M1919 removed to make room for the ammunition, and had an M2 Browning mount for anti-aircraft use. It was accepted into service in February 1945 in limited service, and saw much more use in the Korean War, but use was also limited in the Vietnam War, due to the availability of the M103 heavy tank, which mounted a much more powerful 120mm gun. However, both the T27E1 and the M103 were put out of service by the 1970s by the M60 Patton. Specifications *Type: Heavy tank *Place of origin: United States *In service: February 1945 *Produced: January 1945 *Number built: 8,923 *Weight: 49.3t (T27) 52.7t (T27E1 w/ extra armor) *Length: 10.3 m *Width: 4.33 m *Height: 7.63 m *Crew: 5 *Armor **Front glacis: 137mm **Lower glacis: 84mm **Gun mantlet: 154mm **Turret sides: 104mm **Hull sides: 102mm **Turret rear: 97mm **Hull rear: 77mm *Armament **Main gun: 110mm T5E1 rifled gun (52 rounds) **Secondary armament: x2 7.62mm M1919 Browning (3,000 rounds), x1 12.7mm M2 Browning (1,700 rounds) *Engine: x2 V12 diesel engine (600 bhp) *Suspension: torsion-bar suspension (T27) double torsion-bar suspension (T27E1) *Speed: 38 km/h, 19 km/h off-road T27E5 Designed as a breakthrough tank or bunker buster, mounting a 155mm gun. Concieved in March 1945 with 1 prototype being produced in July 1945. Was selected as a suitable option for Operation Downfall alongside the T28 heavy tank & T92/T93 HMC, however the Japanese surrendered before the operation could be put into effect. Specifications *Type: Heavy tank *Place of origin: United States *In service: February 1945 *Produced: January 1945 *Number built: 8,923 *Weight: 70.8t (w/ extra armor) *Length: 10.3 m *Width: 4.33 m *Height: 9.63 m *Crew: 6 *Armor **Front glacis: 178mm **Lower glacis: 122mm **Gun mantlet: 189mm **Turret sides: 116mm **Hull sides: 130mm **Turret rear: 105mm **Hull rear: 90mm *Armament **Main gun: 155mm T7 rifled gun (33 rounds) **Secondary armament: x1 7.62mm M1919 Browning (2,000 rounds) & x2 12.7mm M2 Browning (3,400 rounds) *Engine: x2 V12 diesel engine (800 bhp) *Suspension: double torsion-bar suspension *Speed: 34 km/h & 12 km/h Gallery T27.png|Factory standard T27 model. T27E1.png|T27E1 model with tracks welded on as extra armor. Note the absence of the bow-mounted M1919 and the addition of an M2HB. T27E5.png|T27E5 prototype. Category:Vehicle Category:Tank